


Death Meets the Devil

by RedKingKelly



Category: Bleach, Durarara!!
Genre: Bleach/Durarara!! Crossover, Dimension Travel, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Ichigo's a trouble magnet, Izaya loves a mystery, Mairu and Kururi gain another brother
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-06
Updated: 2018-09-29
Packaged: 2018-11-28 11:03:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11416593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedKingKelly/pseuds/RedKingKelly
Summary: Orihara Izaya loves humans. And although that probably isn't the most accurate label for his new friend, Ichigo insists, and so Izaya loves him too. It does help that the kid is just so interesting! He's a mystery waiting to be unwrapped, and Izaya can't wait to get to the bottom of him.





	1. Welcome to Ikebukuro

Orihara Izaya loved humans. He loved every single one of them indiscriminately (barring Shizu-chan, who barely counted as human anyway), and without pause. But he did have his favourites.

There were the Doctors Kishitani, who were so similar, and yet completely different in their adoration for their headless houseguest. There were all the gang leaders who thought they could manipulate the greatest underground information dealer to ever exist; their naivety provided Izaya with endless amusement. The general populace of Ikebukuro was, of course, included in Izaya’s favourites (again, excluding Shizu-chan); they could be so very predictable, but their unique ability to simply flow with the chaos that ran rampant within their city was beautiful. And then there was Ichigo.

Admittedly, Izaya wasn’t convinced that the otherworldly swordsman was entirely human, but Ichigo insisted, and so Izaya was more than happy to extend his love in the surly teenager’s direction. Not that Ichigo appreciated it.

* * *

 

Their meeting had been entirely (not-at-all) coincidental; Izaya had heard whispers of a new supernatural presence in Ikebukuro; a teenage boy wearing all black, with two large blades on his person, who could walk on air and was apparently only semi-visible.

These vague accounts had piqued Izaya’s interest, and being the information hoarder that he was, he had immediately gone on the hunt. What kind of information dealer would he be if he didn’t have all the information, after all?

Izaya had spent the better half of the day strolling the streets of Ikebukuro, listening out for any clues as to the whereabouts of his newest prey. He’d had all of his informants on the lookout as well, and even his sisters had been roped in (with the promise that Izaya would introduce them should they not be the ones to find him). So imagine Izaya’s surprise – and delight – when he had run across a scowling, orange haired, sword carrying (entirely visible) teenager at the park, who called himself Kurosaki Ichigo.

That was when he had learned that Ichigo was looking for him too. It had sent a thrill through Izaya’s entire being, that the subject of his interest had returned his feelings. Kind of.

Okay, not at all, but clearly they had been destined to meet, so Izaya had taken it as a win.

It had gone a little something like this:

* * *

 

“Hello there! Welcome to Ikebukuro! My name is Orihara Izaya, what’s yours?”

Beaming up at the strange man-boy, Izaya felt his soul shiver. There was something about this one, in his scowling mouth and his warm eyes, in his tense body and his protective aura. Oh yes, something wonderful was in his grasp.

“Kurosaki Ichigo,” the younger male grunted. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“Oh?” Izaya inquired, delighted. “Well, you’ve found me! What can I do for you today, Ku-ro-sa-ki-kun?”

Dark brown eyes tightened in reaction to Izaya’s teasing tone, but Ichigo refrained from commenting. “I heard that you’re the one to talk to when you need information?” He asked instead.

Vaguely wondering who had sent the newcomer his way (people were generally warned _away_ from him), Izaya tipped an imaginary hat in Ichigo’s direction. “For a price, of course; one can’t be an information broker if he gives it all out for free now, can he?”

“Information broker?” Ichigo raised a brow.

Izaya spread his hands in a ‘what can I say’ gesture. “My hobby is my life, Kurosaki-kun, and I’m very good at it too.”

His hobby being, of course, knowing everything there was to know about human beings.

Ichigo frowned. “I don’t have any money.”

Well. That was somehow perfect. “It’s fine, Kurosaki-kun,” Izaya assured him. “There is something else you can do for me instead…”

“I’m not killing anybody.” Was Ichigo’s immediate response, and Izaya wanted to beam. This boy just got more and more interesting by the minute!

“Oh no, nothing like that,” Izaya laughed, waving his hands. “I just wonder if you would stay with me for a while, like a bodyguard of sorts, and answer a few of my questions?”

Because as much fun as it would be to trick, and cajole, and manipulate all the answers out of this man-child, Izaya was also dying to just _ask_ ; to see what responses he could wrangle from the teen, and how he would react to certain questions, tones, facial expressions!

Being straightforward (ish) would be just as much fun in this instance, Izaya felt.

Ichigo’s frown deepened. “Do you even need a bodyguard?”

Izaya laughed delightedly at the pointed question. “No, not usually,” he freely admitted. “Sometimes people get a little angry with me, but I can protect myself just fine.” He didn’t mention Shizu-chan. That was just asking for trouble.

“Then why do you want me to act like one?” The teenager sounded confused.

“Firstly, your intimidation factor is phenomenal,” Izaya informed him. “The reactions to your presence alone would be priceless. And secondly, having you close would be very convenient for me.”

“Convenient how?” Ichigo asked, eyeing Izaya with suspicion.

Izaya chuckled. “Now, now, Kurosaki-kun, I just told you! I have very many questions for you, and I would greatly appreciate it if you would hang around long enough for me to ask them.” He peered innocently up into that scowling face.

“And that’s all?” Ichigo sounded doubtful. “I answer some questions, and you’ll help me out?” Deep brown eyes practically screamed his distrust.

So expressive! Izaya was almost vibrating with excitement. “Indeed. So, do we have a deal?” He extended his hand for the teen to shake, a winning smile upon his lips (Izaya, despite popular opinion, was well aware of the difference between a smile and a smirk, and he could, actually, do both).

The large hand that enveloped his own, warm and calloused, caused Izaya’s wide smile to sharpen into the smirk that he was so well known for. The kid had no idea what he was getting into; powerful and otherworldly he may be, but obviously still a teenager all the same. Izaya’s questions would make the Spanish Inquisition look like small talk.

“Deal.”


	2. Deals and Dealings

Izaya was very interested in the information that his young new acquaintance wanted from him. What could this possibly-not-human teenager want to know, that he couldn’t find it himself?

As it turned out, it was nothing earth-shattering; Ichigo had given him a list of names and the request to find out as much about them as possible. Or if they even existed.

The last bit had piqued Izaya’s curiosity – why wouldn’t they exist, if Ichigo knew their names and birthdays? Did his new friend have his own imaginary friends, perhaps?

That would be interesting.

But anyway, it wasn’t a difficult request, especially with all the background information that Ichigo had provided. Izaya was getting much more out of the deal; normally something he would be perfectly fine with and would, in fact, be aiming for, but he actually wanted this kid to think well of him (all in aid of getting the answers that he wanted).

And so Izaya, after finding out that Ichigo had been spending the last few nights sleeping in trees and exchanging manual labor for food, had dragged the teen (and his list) back to his own apartment. It certainly played right into Izaya’s ‘keep him close’ plan, and it meant his new friend wasn’t a hobo anymore! A truly win-win situation, Izaya was proud to say.

Of course, the minute Izaya got him home, he’d sent Ichigo off to have a good, long shower, and settled straight in to work. He took his time perusing the list, wondering what was so important about these few people (aside from the obviousness of the first four) that it would send Ichigo on the hunt for the infamous underground informant, Orihara Izaya. _He_ had certainly never heard of any of these people before.

_Kurosaki Masaki – 09/06/1964_

_Kurosaki Yuzu – 06/05/1990_

_Kurosaki Karin – 06/05/1990_

_Kurosaki (Shiba?) Isshin – 10/12/?_

_Arisawa Tatsuki – 17/07/1986_

_Sado Yasutora – 07/04/1987_

_Ishida Uryū – 06/11/1986  
(Ishida Ryūken/Ishida Sōken?)_

_Inoue Orihime – 03/09/1986  
(Inoue Sora?)_

_Asano Keigo – 01/04/1987  
(Asano Mizuho?)_

_Kojima Mizuiro – 23/05/1987_

So Ichigo’s family was missing, was that it? Izaya hadn’t a clue who the others were, but that was okay.

He would soon.

* * *

 

Two, very _frustrating_ , hours later, Izaya still hadn’t found anything. To be completely honest, his pride had taken a massive blow when he failed to find anything within the first five minutes, and then it continued to decline from there.

At first, it had been slightly amusing; it was a challenge, the first one he’d had in a long while. The longer it went on without even a spec of information, however, the more pronounced his pout, and then his intense frown, became. Not to sound like an arrogant prick – which he most certainly was _not_ – but it was literally impossible for Orihara Izaya to have a list of names this long, and not find a single detail on any one of them.

If these people had existed for even one second on this Earth, then Izaya would have known by now. And since he hadn’t found one single thing, well. Ichigo had some explaining to do.

* * *

 

“Nothing? You didn’t find anything on them?” The teenager’s eyebrows furrowed even more deeply than they already were. He had spent the time that Izaya was researching simply lounging on Izaya’s sofa, reading one of the mystery novels from the bookshelf. Izaya was a little miffed to find that the boy didn’t look at all surprised.

Horribly lost and lonely, yes, but not surprised.

“Kurosaki-kun,” Izaya drawled, leaning up into Ichigo’s personal space. “You don’t look like you expected anything different. It wasn’t a wild goose chase that you just sent me on… was it?” Black eyes darkened as Izaya let just a smidge of his displeasure through.

In what was a rather refreshing change for Izaya, Ichigo didn’t appear intimidated in the slightest. The vulnerable emotions disappeared in a heartbeat, irritation and offence taking their place. “Of course not,” the kid said, frowning down at the older man. “I’m not a liar.”

The struggle that Izaya went through to keep his expression in place took the majority of his iron will; he wanted to crow so _badly_ over his newest obsession. Ichigo was just so _interesting!_ After a moment or two of tension, Izaya let his dark aura fade as he beamed at the orange haired boy. He simply couldn’t keep it up while he was so happy; when was the last time he’d been so excited by something?

“I believe you, Kurosaki-kun,” Izaya assured him, stepping out of Ichigo’s bubble and flinging himself back onto the sofa. Ichigo copied the action, cautiously returning to his previous seat. “But that still begs the question; what exactly is going on here?” He sent a razor-sharp smile Ichigo’s way, watching those deep brown eyes narrow back at him.

“I-“ Ichigo paused for a second, looking thoughtful. “I’m not too sure, actually. That’s why I was looking for you. But if even you can’t find them…” He trailed off. Something like desolation settled over that strong face, and Izaya felt his stone heart race.

Whatever this man-child was about to tell him was going to be _beautiful._

“Hey, Orihara-san? Have you ever heard of a place called Karakura-chō, in Tokyo?” Ichigo was staring at him with an intense focus.

Izaya wracked his brain, trying to recall something that he knew for a fact wasn’t there. He knew the names of every prefecture, ward, city and town in Japan; there was no Karakura in Tokyo. He said as much to his guest, who sat back with disappointment in his eyes (although Izaya could tell he was trying not to show it).

This was all getting very mysterious; imaginary friends and non-existent towns – Izaya loved it.

He leaned forward, attempting to stare into Ichigo’s soul (something he would spend hours cackling over once Ichigo finally got around to informing him that he was, technically, a soul). “Maa, Kurosaki-kun, you’re not crazy are you?”

The glare that Ichigo shot him could have scorched the sun. Izaya sat back again, raising his hands defensively. “Don’t be mad, Kurosaki-kun~” he beseeched the teenager. “You’re the one giving me names of people and places that don’t exist.”

That statement seemed to douse Ichigo’s ire like a bucket of ice water. His whole body appeared to slump, even though he didn’t move an inch. “They do exist,” Ichigo murmured. “Or at least, they did.”

Now, Izaya didn’t have a clue what that was supposed to mean. If they had previously existed, if they had lived and died, he would have found something on them. So what was Ichigo trying to say?

Ooh. Obvious. And _exciting_.

“Does this have something to do with the fact that you have strange, supernatural powers, Kurosaki-kun?” Izaya questioned, rather more eagerly than he generally liked to appear. He eyed the two oversized blades that Ichigo had leaned against the back of his sofa. Although, thinking about it, _strange_ didn’t really apply, not when Ichigo at least had the excuse of being a non-human entity.

Shizu-chan was just a freak.

Ichigo huffed out a weak snort. “I guess it does,” he muttered, rolling his orange head back to loll against the sofa. “And if I’m right, it probably doesn’t matter if I tell you.”

Izaya beamed. “I’m listening.”


	3. Storytime

“Do you believe in the afterlife, Orihara-san?”

Ichigo cringed at starting with such a lame, corny line. He could just imagine the way that Rukia and Renji would snicker at him if they were here. The image was enough to make his heart pang; if his human friends apparently didn’t exist here in the Transient World, what were the chances of his Shinigami friends existing in Soul Society? What if Soul Society didn’t even exist here?

Urahara and the Visored were Ichigo’s only link to the Shinigami; if he couldn’t find them, he had no way of checking on the status of his non-living friends. He had no way of getting to Soul Society without Urahara’s senkaimon, and he had no way of figuring out if Urahara was even here, because the guy had no human identification, and his base, Karakura Town, had vanished off the map!

Or had never been on it, whatever.

Point was, Ichigo was stuck. And now here he was, about to reveal dangerous information to possibly the worst person he could have revealed it to. Even after knowing the guy for only a few hours, Ichigo could just tell that Orihara was a dangerous sort of person. He actually reminded the teenager quite a bit of Urahara; he was shady and suspicious, and he knew far too much whilst revealing far too little.

At least with Urahara, Ichigo could trust that his motives were generally in line with Ichigo’s own (minus that one instance where he almost got Rukia executed). With Orihara, Ichigo got the feeling that he would need to be extremely on his guard at all times.

So why the fuck was he currently trying to figure out the best way to explain things likes Shinigami and Soul Society?

He hadn’t a bloody clue.

It was too late anyway; Ichigo had already started with that lame-ass question, and he just knew Orihara wasn’t going to let him take it back. So onwards it was.

The information broker was leaning forward, elbows on his knees and chin resting on his clasped hands. His pale face was passive, but those dark eyes were alight with an interest that made Ichigo uneasy. This guy really was creepy.

“As it happens, Kurosaki-kun,” Orihara started. “I am an atheist. I don’t believe in higher powers, or life after death.” Despite his words, the keen glint in his eye didn’t disappear.

Ichigo leaned back, stretching his arms out and tipping his head back. Would Orihara even believe him? Of course the guy had to be an atheist; nothing could ever be easy for him, could it?

He decided to be blunt. Orihara would either believe him or he wouldn’t, but Ichigo wasn’t going to lie. “I don’t know if this applies here, but where I came from, there was an afterlife. It was called Soul Society.”

The huge grin that split Orihara’s face wasn’t just crazed, it was unholy. Ichigo was suddenly reminded much less of Urahara, and uncomfortably more of Kurotsuchi Mayuri. The human man was giving off a _lot_ of ‘mad scientist’ vibes. He wondered if this feeling of eye-violation was how Ishida felt every time he had to face the Captain of the Twelfth. Ichigo was suddenly feeling a lot more sympathy for his Quincy cousin.

“Do go on, Kurosaki-kun,” Orihara purred. “You’ve got me intrigued~”

Taking a deep breath, Ichigo pushed on, despite vague feelings of doom. “You were asking about my powers before, right? How did you know that I even had any?”

Orihara tilted his head. “Kurosaki-kun, I don’t know if you know this, but walking on thin air is not considered a typical human ability.”

Right. Yet another thing that told Ichigo that he was very far from home; the people here could _see him_. In his Shinigami form. Well, most of them could. Back in Ikebukuro there had been a few times where people had squinted at him as if they couldn’t properly focus on him, and even several instances where Ichigo had spoken to somebody, and the person with them had looked at them like they were crazy when they replied. Ichigo couldn’t quite tell what it was that was allowing certain people to see him and not others; reishi and reiatsu seemed to work differently here. Urahara, or even Ishida, or Rukia with her stupid bunny drawings, would have been able to analyse it better, but all Ichigo knew was that he could still use all his powers (an assumption: he had not yet tried to use Getsuga Tenshō on anything), and that he could still _feel_ reiatsu in the air. There was just nothing that even came close to feeling like a familiar reiatsu signature, nor anything anywhere near the size and strength of Ichigo’s own.

He shook his head. Theorising could wait; Orihara was still waiting for his story. Ignoring the jeers from Hollow-Zangetsu about the state of his intelligence, Ichigo resumed his explanation. “I hadn’t actually realised that people could see me doing that, you know. It was an afterlife thing; once you’ve passed on, you fade from the sight of the living. I’m not dead,” he added hastily, noticing the odd look forming on Orihara’s face. “I’m an exception. But anyway, Soul Society. That’s where the souls of humans go once their physical body dies, and some of those souls go on to become Shinigami.”

“Kurosaki-kun,” Orihara interrupted, smirk twisting at his thin lips. “Are you trying to tell me that you are some form of god?”

Ichigo jerked his head irritably. “Of course not. I’m _human_. Now shut up and let me finish, or this is going to take all night.”

The information broker leaned back, smiling in (fake) apology. “Please, continue.”

Ugh. _‘This guy…’_

Narrowing his eyes a little, Ichigo regathered his train of thought. “I didn’t mean Shinigami in the literal sense of the word,” he said pointedly. “It’s just a title, kinda. I think. It’s what they call the souls with high levels of power, the ones that are able to go back to the Transient World and send on the ones that are hanging around as ghosts.” It was a little more complicated than that, and Ichigo had no doubt that Orihara would find a way to pry every single little detail out of him, but for now, he wanted to keep it simple. “Shinigami can use reishi, the stuff that everything spiritual is made up of, to walk on by gathering it in mid-air. That’s what I was doing, back in Ikebukuro. Reishi is invisible and untouchable to regular humans, which is why it looked like I was walking on the air.”

“Interesting.” Despite calling himself an atheist, Orihara didn’t particularly look as though his entire worldview had just been shattered. In fact, he was looking rather pleased with himself. “But you, Kurosaki-kun, said that you were a not-dead human. And yet here, you are, doing supposedly Shinigami things.” Black eyes seemed to be attempting to bore into Ichigo’s skull with an unnerving intensity.

 _‘This_ , _’_ Ichigo thought tiredly, _‘Is probably why people kept looking at me funny when I mentioned I was looking for him.’_ Still though, he couldn’t regret it, not even if Orihara had him spilling every single one of his deep, dark secrets. The guy had a reputation for knowing everything. If Ichigo had any sort of chance at finding a way home, Orihara Izaya would be the one to find it for him.


	4. Meet the Family

Izaya decided, the moment Ichigo finished his story time, that he loved the hybrid teen regardless of whether he was fully human or not, because the boy was so painfully human in all of his actions and reactions that Izaya truly just could not help it. Better not to delude himself into missing out on one of the more interesting people on the planet.

Besides, Celty Sturluson was even less human than the teenager, and yet Izaya couldn’t help but love her either. Whatever her (headless) body was, she definitely had a human heart.

He didn’t even bother acknowledge the hypocrisy of his own thoughts when it came to the matter of Shizu-chan. That violent beast was the exception to everything.

Lying in bed that night, with Ichigo passed out on his sofa, Izaya couldn’t contain his grin. Although the kid had shared a good deal of his (wonderfully, amazingly, _heart-breakingly_ troubled) life story, Izaya could feel that he had also left a good deal out.

Prying it out of him would be a mission that Izaya was dying to dive into. Closing his eyes as he shivered happily, Izaya drifted off to sleep with the knowledge that his instant obsession with Kurosaki Ichigo would lead him somewhere _glorious_.

* * *

 

Ichigo woke up to someone pressing insistently on the doorbell. Cursing as he unfolded his stiff limbs from the sofa he had fallen asleep on, he wondered who the _fuck_ wanted to see Orihara at such an hour on a Sunday. The clock on the wall told him that it was far too early for visitors.

Unless it was an emergency? The thought had Ichigo moving faster, reaching the door to Orihara’s apartment in an instant. Opening it, Ichigo was pulled up short by the sight of twin, ten-year-old girls peering earnestly back at him. The pang of homesickness that shot through him almost brought Ichigo to his knees with the strength of it. Out of all the people that he couldn’t find here (wherever ‘here’ was), his sisters were the ones that he missed the most. Their absence was a constant buzz at the back of Ichigo’s mind, where he had pushed all of his fear and worry.

“Excuse me, mister? Are you okay?”

Both girls were watching him with concern painted all over their faces. Ichigo wondered what kind of face he had been making for them to look like that.

“I’m fine, thanks,” he waved them off. “Did you two need something?”

One of the girls stepped forward, eyes roving curiously over his form. “Yeah! We came because Iza-nii promised he would introduce us if we helped him to look for you!”

The other girl tugged on her hand. When she turned to look, their silent eye contact conversation reminded Ichigo even more of Karin and Yuzu. Those two had a level of understanding that nobody else could ever hope to reach. It made his chest ache, seeing it in these girls.

“I’m sorry, Stranger-san!” The first twin turned back to him, contrition on her face. “My twin here has just reminded me that we haven’t even introduced ourselves. My name is Orihara Mairu, and this is Orihara Kururi. It’s nice to meet you!” She dropped into an enthusiastic bow, her twin following more sedately with an echoed, “Nice to meet you.”

Orihara. Iza-nii.

His jaw dropped a little. “You- are you two related to Orihara Izaya?” Ichigo could see some form of resemblance, now that he was looking. They all had the same brown eyes, although the girls’ lacked Orihara’s creepy shine.

“Big… brother…” Kururi spoke so softly that Ichigo only just caught it. Mairu nodded in agreement.

“Yup, that’s right! Iza-nii is our one and only big brother! And he’s not very good with his promises, so we decided to take things into our own hands!”

Ichigo snorted. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised. He stepped back, allowing the girls to skip/shuffle past him into the living room as he closed the door. When he turned around, they had made themselves comfortable on the sofa he’d been using as a bed and were staring expectantly at him. He raised an eyebrow back.

Mairu grinned at him, and the way her face lit up very much reminded Ichigo of her big brother. He spared a moment to pray that the universe wouldn’t allow the twins to grow up anything like him – one was more than enough. “So…” Mairu wriggled excitedly in her seat, leaning forward to peer into Ichigo’s face. He settled in one of the armchairs, bracing himself for the onslaught. “What’s your name?”

Ichigo blinked.

Mairu didn’t. She just continued to stare, keen interest in her eyes, her twin echoing the expression at her side.

The corner of his mouth twitched upwards in a half-smile, before he let himself chuckle out loud. “I guess I didn’t introduce myself either, huh? I’m Kurosaki Ichigo.”

A sigh from the doorway prevented any further discussion. “Maa, didn’t I tell you two to stop showing up here out of the blue?” Orihara sauntered into the room, clad in simple black sleep pants and shirt. Honestly, he looked almost exactly like he did during the day, minus the distinctive coat.

Kururi waved a sedate hand. “Good morning… Iza-nii…”

Her twin waved as well, looking utterly unrepentant. “It can’t be helped, Iza-nii,” she said, shrugging. “We just couldn’t wait to meet such an interesting person, and you’re not the most reliable, if I’m being honest.”

Orihara rolled his eyes. “So, you just decided to invite yourselves over?”

The girls exchanged looks. “Of course.” They replied in unison. Kururi went on, saying, “Iza-nii’s home… is our home… right?”

The pained expression on Orihara’s face was the most amusing thing Ichigo had seen since he’d arrived in this place. “Sounds about right to me.” He replied for the so-called ‘information broker’, smirking.

“Ah!” Orihara clapped a hand to his chest, looking wounded. “Such a betrayal, Kurosaki-kun! I think you owe me a few more answered questions for that.” He smiled innocently.

 Ichigo could only sigh. “Breakfast first. I’m not answering anything until I’ve had some food.” He took a moment to peer suspiciously at the man whose apartment they were currently in. “Do you even have anything edible in that kitchen?” The query was accompanied by vague hand-waving towards said kitchen. Somehow, Orihara didn’t seem like the cooking type.

Mairu clapped her hands. “It’s a special occasion, isn’t it?” Kururi nodded agreeably. “That means Iza-nii should take us all out to breakfast!” She beamed, and the guileless expression was so like Orihara’s mock-innocence from just a minute ago that it gave Ichigo chills. He mentally reiterated his prior prayer to the universe; _please God, don’t let these kids turn into him._ He hadn’t even known the guy for twenty-four hours, and the twins even less, but Ichigo could already tell that that would only be inviting disaster on the city of Ikebukuro.


	5. Two Otaku Meet A Shounen Hero

For the first time in his entire life, Orihara Izaya was actively glad for the existence of his younger sisters. Watching Ichigo interact with the two of them was an experience that Izaya wouldn't trade for anything.

It had been a couple of days since he had found the teenager and brought him home, and his sisters had come around every single day. Izaya hadn't seen so much of them since they had all lived in the same house. If it wasn't for the so-called Shinigami, he would have been glad to go on like that.

"Iza-nii! Let's go out for dinner!" Mairu latched on to one of his arms the moment she noticed him leaning in the doorway. Not a second later, Kururi had joined her, attaching herself to his other arm. Ichigo, who had been helping them with their homework (although Izaya doubted they needed it), stood up as well. He looked amused at Izaya's predicament.

It wasn't surprising, per se, Ichigo's endless tolerance for Mairu and Kururi – he had younger sisters of his own, after all. But it did make Izaya wonder. Did he have a soft spot for all those younger than himself? Or was it just the twins, and who they reminded him of?

And also, aside from wondering about Ichigo; why the hell had the twins suddenly decided that physical affection was going to be a thing? It was unsettling, to say the least. Izaya was much more accustomed to random attempts on his life than whatever snuggly bullshit they were currently pulling. He wished they would stop.

"Am I supposed to be paying for this dinner?" He asked, looking down into Mairu's innocent face. She grinned back at him.

"Obviously! You're the only one with any money here, Iza-nii."

"...loaded?"  _('You can afford it, can't you?)_

And that was another thing. Kururi's speech, which had been softer and slower than Mairu's ever since they had decided on their personalities, had regressed even more. This, Izaya suspected had been progressing for a while, because she didn't use the newer speech pattern all the time. He simply hadn't noticed, because he tried not to spend too much time with them.

He really didn't understand these girls.

"Ha!" Izaya barked out a laugh, gripping each of the girls' heads tightly. "That's a blatant lie, little sister. I know our parents give you both a pretty hefty allowance. Why don't you two take Kurosaki-kun and myself out for dinner instead, huh?"

The two girls squirmed away, Mairu pouting outrageously. "Wow, Iza-nii, I didn't know you were the type of person to take advantage of two young girls like ourselves! And family, at that!"

Kururi shook her head slowly. "Iza-nii… despicable."

They levelled him with identical disappointed stares. Izaya felt quite ganged up on, especially when Ichigo started laughing. "Kurosaki-kun, how can you be on their side?" Izaya asked plaintively. "After I was just trying to get us free dinner?"

"They're nicer than you." Ichigo said simply, shrugging.

"Not that that's hard!" Mairu piped up, sticking her tongue out at her brother.

Kururi eyeballed him.

Izaya threw up his hands. "Fine! I see how it is. I shall endeavour to earn your love, starting with dinner." He gave them his best smile.

Three sets of eyes squinted at him in suspicion. And then they all shrugged, turning around to clear up the homework mess they had created on Izaya's coffee table.

Pouting to himself, Izaya returned to his room to grab his wallet.

* * *

Life went on in this strangely domestic fashion.

True to his word, Izaya spent copious amounts of time following up leads on the supernatural world, and also thinking up mile long lists of questions to ask Ichigo. The former was slow going. The latter – well that was going  _swimmingly_.

Ichigo was surprisingly compliant, strolling around Ikebukuro at Izaya's side, scowling impressively when required, and answering questions when asked. It was a little hilarious to the information broker, how much easier several aspects of his business dealings went now that he had Ichigo with him. As for the Q&A portion of their days, when Izaya had expressed his curiosity about Ichigo's willingness to share, the teenager had only shrugged and said, "A deal's a deal".

The day they ran into the otaku twins, Karisawa Erika and Yumasaki Walker, was a very fun one for Izaya. It was rare to see those two without Kadota and Togusa, and even more rare for Karisawa to not mention her unhealthy delusions about him and Shizu-chan. But both of those things had happened, and Izaya was of the opinion that it was the best interaction he'd ever had with the duo.

The fact that Karisawa had started with "A real life shounen protagonist! Can we take a picture with you?" had softened Izaya's feelings towards her quite a bit.

Ichigo stared blankly at her.

Karisawa blinked expectantly back.

Izaya, content to lurk in the background and observe, placed a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter. His young companion looked utterly nonplussed; standing there in his black robes, with his oversized swords at his back and side, Izaya saw exactly what Karisawa was getting at.

"How do you know he isn't just cosplaying?" Izaya couldn't resist asking.

The two otaku shot him withering looks. "If he was cosplaying, we would definitely know who he's supposed to be. If neither one of us recognises him-"

"Then the character doesn't exist!" Karisawa clapped her hands together.

"Also, we've seen him walking around in mid-air." Yumasaki admitted, shrugging. "This is the closest we've been though."

"Still can't get used to that," Ichigo muttered. "I forget people can see me here."

Karisawa and Yumasaki grabbed onto each other excitedly, dancing in place.

"Did you hear that, Yumacchi?" Karisawa gushed.

Yumasaki nodded sagely. "Very nice 'stranded in another world' line."

Ichigo, once again, stared at the two of them. Izaya smothered a snicker.

"That's what happened to you, right?" Karisawa let go of Yumasaki and leaned up into Ichigo's personal space. "You were thrown into our world by a terrible accident and now you're searching desperately for a way home!"

The light in her eyes was alarming, to say the least.

Ichigo, without hesitation, placed a hand against Karisawa's forehead and pushed her back a couple steps. "How the hell did you two jump straight to that idea?" He asked, brow twitching.

Both otaku blinked.

"Isn't it obvious?" They replied in unison.

"No!" Ichigo snapped. "It's the least obvious conclusion that anybody should be coming to!"

Karisawa and Yumasaki exchanged bemused glances.

"Is it?" Yumasaki asked, stroking his chin. "It seemed like a clear assumption to make."

Izaya's favourite Shinigami just spluttered. Karisawa laughed, slinging an arm around his shoulders and dragging him down to her level. "Don't worry about it! We won't tell anyone, right, Yumacchi? Except Dota-chin and Saburo-san, of course."

Yumasaki nodded. "Exactly. What kind of otaku would we be if we sabotaged our chance at being a part of this kind of manga-worthy situation?"

Izaya could almost see the defeat settling into the line of Ichigo's shoulders. He covered his mouth with one hand, ducking his head to hide his ever-growing amusement. He would have to introduce Ichigo to the guys at Russia Sushi soon; the potential for hilarity was too good to ignore.

"Otaku, huh?" Ichigo's lips twitched in the barest hint of a wry grin. "Inoue would probably love you guys."

 _Inoue Orihime_.

From Ichigo's initial list. He sounded wistful, and Izaya wondered if she was Ichigo's girlfriend or if the kid was just missing home more than he'd been letting on.

The other's must have noticed the change of tone as well. Karisawa, who still had Ichigo compliantly in her grasp, smiled and ruffled his hair, ignoring his responding scowl. "It's okay, young hero," she said, smile turning teasing. "We'll help you get home. There's nobody more informed about this subject than us!" She winked.

Izaya took complete offense to that statement, but Ichigo just shook his head, straightening up again. "Sure, why not," he said, brown eyes alight with humour. "The more the merrier, right? I'm Kurosaki Ichigo. Nice to meet you."

Yumasaki and Karisawa high-fived, grinning manically.

"Nice to meet you, Ichigo-kun! I'm Karisawa Erika, and this is Yumasaki Walker! We look forward to working with you!"

Ikebukuro's greatest info-broker could only watch, and resign himself to dealing with these two on a much more regular basis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might be going non-linear after this chapter! Remember, there's no over-arching plotline here!

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys :). Okay, just so everybody knows, this fic will not have any kind of overarching plotline. I'm nowhere near smart enough to figure out the crazy, twisted type of plot that Durarara!! has, so I'm not even going to try. It's basically just a bunch of character interactions, tbh. Hope nobody's too disappointed. 
> 
> \- Kelly


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